What did ancient Romans eat? Varied diet found from Pompeii latrines, Herculaneum sewers

November 14, 2014 3:30 PM

7
0

In this undated photo provided by Mark Robinson, environmental archeologist at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, a scallop shell with makeup found in a sewer of Herculaneum. Archaeologists picking through latrines, sewers, cesspits and trash dumps at Pompeii and Herculaneum have flushed out tantalizing clues to what appears to be a varied diet in those ancient Roman cities destroyed in 79 A.D. by the eruption of Vesuvius. Much of what the inhabitants of those doomed towns didn't digest or left on their plates became traces lining toilet pipes, remnants in centuries-long buildup in cesspits, or throwaway in dumps. At a three-day conference ending Friday in Rome, archaeologists discussed their discoveries, including gnawed-on fish bones, goose eggshells from meals of the elite and carbonized nibbles baked perhaps as offerings for deities. (AP Photo/Mark Robinson/Oxford University Museum of Natural History) (The Associated Press)

This undated photo provided by Mark Robinson, environmental archeologist at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, shows a latrine entry shaft into a sewer with calcium phosphate build-up on the side. Archaeologists picking through latrines, sewers, cesspits and trash dumps at Pompeii and Herc...